Play Therapy | Assessment

Assessment:

There will be two interview appointments, one in which the therapist will meet with the parents without the children present (and not in the lobby) to discuss concerns the parents have. The parent session will include background information, family functioning, and hopes/goals of treatment.

The second session the therapist meets with the child alone and the parents wait in the lobby. This session assesses the child’s functioning and begins the relationship between child and therapist. Every play session we ask the parents to stay in the building if your child needs you.

Treatment

The parents and therapist will create the goal and plan of treatment together. Capstone Therapists do not come with a pre-planned agenda. We listen to your needs and assess the needs of the child. Goal of treatment is collaborative and can be adjusted through the course of treatment as your needs change.

When you bring your child to session, they will go back to the play room alone allowing them to feel comfortable to express whatever they need to. This can cause some anxiety for parents, and during the intake session the therapist will show you the play room and give examples of how children work through their problems.

Treatment can include Family sessions in addition to Play Therapy. Family sessions work best if all of the family participates. This means everyone the child lives with at home (Father, Mother, siblings, live in Grandparents, etc). During Individual Play therapy education materials can be reviewed by parents

How often, how long, and how many sessions are needed depends on what the concerns are and the needs of the child. The amount of sessions needing to resolve concerns depends on many factors. An ongoing discussion between therapist and parents will help decide the amount of sessions that will be appropriate for the needs of the child. Play therapy typically occurs one time a week. The more consistent one is with appointments the more benefits that are gained and faster the problem is resolved.

Conclusion

Therapy is designed to end. It is the goal to assist the client in managing problems on their own. How fast/slow counseling progresses is determined by the work put in by the child and their family and the magnitude of the concern brought to counseling. It is important to have a last session to process closure and make relapse prevention plans with parents/family.

Capstone Center for Counseling, DBT and Relational Trauma

Call Today for a free 10 minute phone consultation with a licensed professional counselor – 770-744-5055

Capstone Center for Counseling, DBT, & Relational Trauma provides clinical services. We are staffed by licensed professional counselors, social workers,marriage & family therapists, pastoral counselors, and life/recovery coaches. Capstone provides counseling services for many clinical and relational issues. Our affiliates provide specialty services for sexual addiction, spouses/partners of addicts, stepfamilies, and a variety of intensive workshops. Also we specialize in therapy for children and their families. The mission of Capstone Professional Counseling Center is to provide compassionate and professional counseling, coaching, therapy, group support, and training to clients with mental health and sexual addiction issues.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an evidenced based therapy that is very effective in treating people who have great difficulty regulating their emotions and behaviors. DBT includes an assessment, orientation, individual therapy, DBT Skills group and phone skills coaching. Not every counselor who teaches DBT Skills does DBT. Capstone therapists and counselors are intensively trained in DBT and have the expertise to be effective.